Adjustable doorstop and method of applying same



Oct. 6, 1942. c. w. OSNER ADJUSTABLE DOOR SfI'OP AND METHQD 0F APPLYING SAME Filed Aug. 1, 1940 INVENTOR. WOSNER "-3 Flcjz CLARENCE Patented Oct. 6, 1942 ADJUSTABLE. DOORSTOPYAND METHOD 0F APPLYING SAME Clarence W. Osner, Chicago, 111., assignor to Chicago Railway Equipment Company,

Chicago,

111., a corporation of Illinois Application August 1, 1940, Serial No. 349,086

3 Claims.

The invention relates to latches for sliding doors and is particularly adapted for use on railway house car sliding doors which are difficult to maintain tightly closed because of inaccuracies in manufacture and assembly, because of the rough handling of the doors by workmen, and because of the jostling the doors are subjected to while the car is traveling and also the weaving action of the car body during travel.

In E. G. Busse Patent No. 2,167,707, issued August 1, 1939, there is disclosed a latch and stop arrangement on a door and a car sill which acts automatically to take up play between the car door and the car body, but the effectiveness of the arrangement is partly dependent upon the application of the stop after the door has been mounted upon the door supporting tracks. Normally the door tracks are applied to the car without holes for the rivets by which the latch stop is secured to the track, and after the door, with slidable latch mounted thereon, is mounted on the track, the door is moved to closed position, the latch raised, and then the stop casting is located and clamped to the track and rivet holes burned or drilled and reamed in the track. Due to the fact that the tracks are of high carbon steel to resist Wear by the door mounting balls, it is dificult to burn and ream the rivet holes and many reamers are spoiled, making this an expensive job.

The main object of the present invention is to arrange a more convenient and certain assembly of the latch and stop with the door and car body and one which will be more likely to obtain full efliciency out of the automatic feature of the latch.

The invention comprises all of the novel struc- The car body includes the usual side sill I,

floor side wall 3, side plate 4, and door post including a front stop 5 against which the front edge of the door 6 is thrust when the door is closed. The door is carried by balls ion a track 13 mounted on brackets 9 on sill I.

'edge of the door.

A latch l0 includes a handle portion H and terminals l2 and I3 slidable in brackets l4 and I5 secured to the door. Lower terminal I3 projects below the bottom of the door and alongside of track 8 and is disposed to engage a stop 16 secured to the track. The upper face of stop I6 is inclined downwardly and tothe right at I1. The left hand end of stop l6 has an upright face 18.

As the door is closed, the lower end of latch ID rides up over face I1 and along the'horizon- 'tal top face l9 of stop 16 and drops down in front of the upright face I8 to positively hold the door against opening movement. The interengaging faces of the latch and its brackets l4 and I5 are inclined to the vertical so that the weight of the latch and the jostling of .the same during movement of the car tends towork it downwardly and to the right, therebyl thrusting the door to the left and rendering tight the joint at the front Plunger 2| has a slot 2la abreast of but of less depth than the diameter of rivet holes 23. Lugs 21 project inwardly from housing 20 to engage the downwardly facing edge of track 8. The manufacturer who supplies the track, door and dgozrzfixtures will rivet the housing to the track a When the track and door are assembled with the car, the door is closed tightly, latch I0 is lifted to a predetermined height, to allow the proper additional forward movement of door in relation to car, and plunger 2| is thrust forward or held by any suitable filler such as shims 24, inserted in the pocket between its inner end and the opposing end of the plunger, or a tapered key 25, inserted between oppositely inclined surfaces on the outer end of housing 20 and the opposing surface of plunger 2|. If desired, both the filler and the key may be used. The end of a tapered reamer is then freely inserted through holes 23 in housing 20, and slot 2m in plunger 2| and the corresponding holes in track 8 aligned with holes 23. The reamer will cut the metal forming the sides of slot 2la leaving shoulders which will engage rivets inserted through the housing and track and permanently hold latch engaging plunger 2| in proper advanced position.

Preferably, two or more adjacent faces of housing 20 and plunger 2| are provided with coacting serrations 26 which cooperate with the shoulders formed when the slot is reamed out, and the rivets therethrough, to hold the contact element more securely against movement in the housing.

This construction makes it possible to assemble the stop member with the track where the latter is manufactured, and irrespective of the relative time and place of completion of its assembly with the car or of the mounting of the door and without interfering with the possibility of obtaining a tight joint between the door and the door front stop 5.

It is not essential that all of the detail features described above be included in the stop, although they cooperate to provide a secure mounting of the latch contact element. The shims or wedge, or both, may be omitted by otherwise holding the contact element against the door latch, and other changes in the details of the construction :may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and the exclusive use of such modifications as come within the scope of the claims is contemplated.

What is'claimed is:

1. In a device of the class described, a stop structure adapted to be mounted upon a car body and including a main member having a horizontal, longitudinal pocket, .open at one end, and a plunger slidably inserted in said pocket and having an upright face for engaging a latch on the car door, said main member and plunger having oppositely facing inclined surfaces, and a tapered key .inserted between said faces for securely holding said member and plunger against inwardly telescoping movement from the latch engaging position of said plunger.

2. In a holding device for a car door slidable on a car body, a member comprising a main part and a stop part mounted on said main part and projecting therefrom to engage a latch arranged to oppose said stop part, said main part having apertures, elements extending through said apertures to secure said main part to the car body, said elements filling said apertures, said stop part having an elongated slot normally of less width than the diameter of said apertures and extend ing abreast of and beyond said apertures, said elongated slot receiving said elements when said slot is enlarged transversely of its length adjacent to said apertures to form shoulders opposing the sides of said elements and thereby fixing the position .of the stop part relative to the main part.

3 In a device of the class described, a stop structure adapted to be mounted upon a car body and including a main member, with a horizontal longitudinal pocket open at one end, and a plunger member slidably inserted in said pocket and having an upright face exteriorly of said pocket for engaging a latch on the car door, said members having apertures in substantial alignment and extending transversely of the plunger member movement in the pocket, the aperture in one member being narrower than the aperture in the other member and elongated, relative to the latter-mentioned aperture, in the direction of said plunger member movement, and a securing element fitting in said latter-mentioned aperture and insertible through the elongated aperture in the one member at a portion thereof en- .larged to the size of the aperture in the other member, whereby said pocket member and plunger member are securely held in assembled relation.

CLARENCE W. OSNER. 

